THE Kuala Lumpur High Court had on March 30, 2021 ordered RBTR Asset Management Bhd and five other defendants to pay RM13.35 mil in restitution for their role in the Euro Deposit Investment (EDI) scheme.
The Court ordered the defendants’ assets be traced and paid to the Securities Commission (SC) in order to compensate the EDI scheme investors.
“The Court has also declared that RBTR, who was an SC-licensed fund manager, had breached its obligations and/or duties under the fund manager guidelines and failed to conduct due diligence to safeguard investor monies,” the SC pointed out in a statement issued today.
The SC had on 2009 filed a civil suit against RBTR and five other defendants, namely:
- RBTR;
- Locke Guarantee Trust Limited (LGT), New Zealand;
- Locke Capital Investments Ltd (LCI), British Virgin Island;
- Isaac Paul Ratnam;
- Joseph Lee Chee Hock; and
- Nicholas Chan Weng Sung.
The SC had on May 17, 2012 revoked RBTR’s Capital Markets Services Licence (CMSL).
The civil suit was filed following the market regulator’s investigations in August 2009 into the EDI scheme after receiving complaints from investors.
A total of 106 investors were misled into participating in the scheme which promised, among others, an annual return of 8% to be paid upon maturity.
Investors had been led to believe that their investments were deposited into an “AAA”-rated European bank with full capital and income protection. A total of RM13.35 mil, in particular investments maturing in February 2009 to May 2009, was unpaid.
The EDI scheme was marketed by RBTR together with LGT and LCI, both of which held themselves as a fund manager in Malaysia in association with RBTR.
The other defendants, Nicholas Chan and Joseph Lee, were directors of LGT and LCI, while Isaac Ratnam was an individual associated with the operations of the two companies. – April 5, 2021
